PESHAWAR: A businessman, Engineer Yasir Arafat, has accused MNA Shah G Gul Afridi and Senator Taj Mohammad Afridi of supporting kidnappers of his eight-year-old son and demanded of Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmed Khan to help arrest the culprits and recover the boy peacefully.

Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Friday, Yasir Arafat, who belongs to Speena Warai area of Peshawar and deals in property business, said that his son Abdullah, a grade-II student, was kidnapped on June 9, 2015 from Speena Warai by known kidnappers who later demanded Rs70 million as ransom for his release.

He said that during the search for his son a man gave him a clue that helped him reach the accused persons. The source, he said, disclosed names of the kidnappers who included Haji Abid Khan Afridi and Haji Tariq Khan Afridi, sons of Zar Badshah Afridi; Haji Jawad Afridi, son of Sahib Shah Afridi; and Lalpur Afridi, son of Bahadur Afridi, all from Hajyano Kallay in Jamrud, Khyber Agency.

“My source took me to the house of the kidnappers where I personally saw that my son was in custody of the people, but they were not ready to release him unless the ransom is paid,” Mr Arafat told media persons.

He said that the kidnappers were blood relatives of MNA Haji Shah G Gul Afridi and Senator Taj Mohammad Afridi and they were very influential people of Khyber Agency where the political administration was reluctant to take action against them.

On confirmation of names of the accused persons, he said that FIR was registered against the kidnappers at Peshtakhara police station, Peshawar, but the police instead of taking action against the culprits gave them the copy of the whole case file. “The accused sent me life threats after seeing their names in the FIR and now they have stopped attending my phone calls. Last message of the kidnappers for me was that they will slaughter my son and dump his boy somewhere near Lakhkarabad locality anytime,” Mr Arafat said.

He claimed that the investigation officers of Peshtakhara police station had given the entire information to the kidnappers about the case against them, saying that it was duty of the police to arrest them.

He said that the kidnappers also claimed to have close links with a proscribed militant organisation of Khyber Agency.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play